AYLESBURY VALE GREEN PARTY MANIFESTO

AYLESBURY VALE GREEN PARTY MANIFESTO

The Green Party is a party of social and environmental justice. We believe in “The Common Good” - a politics that works for the benefit of all. We are the only party that puts the environment at the heart of our policies.

We know that continuous economic growth is not possible in a world of finite resources. Threats to social, economic and environmental well-being are part of the same problem.Solving one of these crises cannot be achieved without solving the others. We therefore support a radical transformation of society.

We stand for greater equality, sustainability and the right of all of us to a full and healthy life, which includes decentralising government as much as possible and empowering people to be able to make more decisions at the local level.

We will protect vital Public Services – The new government has already shown that austerity was always a political strategy not one required for a successful economy. The effect of many of the recent cuts will be felt for years to come. We will protect vital services provided by the County and District Councils, such as services for young and older people, community safety and the provision of social housing.

We will suport the living wage – We will ensure that people providing public services and goods to the Councils receive a dignified reward for their labours. This will enable them to afford to live and help stop taxpayer-funding being paid to local companies to subsidise exploitative wage rates.

We will support the local economy – We will ensure local public bodies get their supplies and services from local workers, and from businesses that provide secure jobs with no zero hours contracts and that give training opportunities for young people.

We will work to keep the NHS and essential local services publicly run - We believe services vital to the community like health, energy and railways should be run for the common good. We therefore oppose the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem policies of privatising health and other public services. These parties are allowing profitable parts of our NHS to be “cherry picked” by multi-national companies.

We will campaign to build affordable green homes for local people – For many families in Aylesbury Vale housing is in crisis due to the shortage of affordable homes. We will work with housing associations, Town and Parish Councils landowners and builders to provide more homes. A priority will be homes suitable for poorer families, single and older people. We will ensure these homes are built to high energy-saving standards.

We will press for increased investment in vital infrastructure – Aylesbury Vale faces huge pressures for development without enough support for infrastructure such as schools, health services, and sewage disposal. Stoke Mandeville Hospital and local GPs are overstretched, and particularly in rural areas our primary schools and services for the elderly are under great strain. We will seek to ensure developers make a proper contribution to make our public services fit for purpose.

We will work to make people proud to be part of Aylesbury Vale’s rich community - Immigration has enhanced our culture and diversity and Aylesbury has a strong history of welcoming migrants. We condemn the other political parties that blame and scapegoat migrants for economic and social problems - problems actually caused by successive governments’ failure to run the economy for ordinary people. We will encourage inter-community dialogue to reduce the suspicion and incomprehension that can mar community relations.We will also prioritise providing facilities and activities for young people, particularly in rural areas.

We will support local food production and bio-diversity - We will assist local communities to produce more of their own food through allotments, and support local food producers who care for the environment and take proper care of their animals. We will also support the creation of new wildlife areas in public spaces to provide habitats for a rich diversity of plants and animals, and promote policies that stop cruelty to wild animals such as the ban on fox hunting and culling badgers.

We are the only party that has consistently voted against HS2 in Parliament - HS2 is an energy-intensive, over-engineered railway which will cause massive damage and disruption to Aylesbury Vale, with no intermediate station serving our communities. The £50 billion could be much better spent. Nationally we will argue to bring the railways back into public ownership. Locally we support investment in the new East-West rail links which will provide improved services to Milton Keynes, Oxford and destinations to the north and east.

We will improve bus links, cycling and walking facilities - Road expenditure has almost exclusively focused on motor vehicles, by redirecting even a small proportion of the available funds we will be able to make massive improvements to footpaths and cycle routes, improving integration with public transport and supporting local campaigns led by communities throughout the Vale.

We support community-owned generation of electricity from renewable resources – We will support the new Buckinghamshire Energy Strategy, ensuring profits from local energy generation flow into the local economy and not into multinational coffers. We will also ensure that disadvantaged communities benefit, for example through improved home insulation programmes.

We will oppose plans to drill for oil and gas through fracking – This is a totally inappropriate and unsafe technology for our densely populated area. It would risk toxic contamination of our water and increase our dependence on fossil fuels when we should be taking urgent action to radically reduce CO2 emissions.

We will work to ensure the future of the planet is taken seriously by all politicians – We have a new government with a lot of big issues facing them. Climate change is the biggest but they may not recognise that yet. We need to keep tellilng them that we all depend on a healthy environment. Without it we won't be here.